Soon after Dr. Gardner sent this to me, I read about this study in DairyReporter.com. Its account had this headline: “Mediterranean diet with added dairy shown to improve heart health in Australia.” It said nothing about funding source (it should have).

I think this collection of articles from FoodNavigator on the dairy industry is especially clear in revealing three notable trends: (1) the ongoing decline in milk consumption, (2) a more recent decline in yogurt consumption, and (3) an increase in production, availability, and marketing of dairy products high in fat. Take a look:

It’s been a challenging year for many dairy brands, with continued weakness in fluid milk and yogurt categories and growing competition from dairy-free alternatives. But there has been no shortage of innovation, spanning everything from ‘intentionally less sweet’ high protein yogurt launches to whole milk and even ‘triple cream’ offerings as fat roars back in some parts of the category.

Tillamook CEO talks dairy innovation and ambitions of reaching $1bn in sales: Tillamook County Creamery Association has had a loyal regional following in the Pacific Northwest for more than 100 years (founded in 1909), but in order to secure its next 100 years the dairy co-operative needed to execute a national growth strategy set forth by CEO Patrick G. Criteser who has ambitions of hitting $1bn in annual sales… Read

Got milk? Yes, but not as we used to know it, Jim: While sales of plain dairy milk have been declining for years, and US yogurt production has dropped off after peaking in 2014, new data shows the continued growth of cheese, butter, and ready-to-drink coffee, yogurt drinks and protein beverages featuring dairy milk, suggesting that the growing interest in all things plant-based has not prompted a mass consumer exodus away from dairy, but that consumption habits are changing… Read

I haven’t said anything about A2 milk—milk from cows producing a different form of casein protein than cows producing regular A1 casein—since coming across it in Australia nearly three years ago.

Then, I was impressed that the manufacturer’s claims for A2 milk’s better digestibility were based entirely on studies paid for by—surprise!—the manufacturer (as I explain in my latest book, Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat, food industry funding of nutrition research produces highly predictable results and, therefore, is not good for science, public health, or trust).

Now those companies are trying to sell A2 milk here (at a higher price, of course).

According to FoodNavigator-USA, the US dairy industry is not happy about these claims and brought them up before the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau, which referred the matter to the Federal Trade Commission.

At issue is the quality of the industry-funded research.

It’s easy to understand the dairy industry’s view that A2 milk will take market share away from conventional milk at a time when milk sales have been declining for years.

As for the benefits of A2 milk? As with so many health claims, I’m betting that this one is more about marketing than health.

GRAIN and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) have issued a devastating report on the effects of meat and dairy production on climate change.

The report’s principal finding:

At issue are demands for growth in the meat and dairy industries.

The report explains:

Current industrial levels of production cannot be sustained, nor can growth models for meat and dairy remain unchanged. The paradox of the corporate business model based on high rates of annual growth versus the urgent climate imperative to scale back meat and dairy production and consumption in affluent countries and populations is untenable.

Its inevitable conclusion:

cheap meat and dairy comes at a high cost due to social, environmental and animal welfare problems that continue to be under-regulated. In addition, this production is only made possible because the corporations receive an indirect subsidy from taxpayers in the form of government-funded price supports that keep grain cheap.

It is past time to regulate the industry and redirect the massive subsidies and other public expenditures that currently support the big meat and dairy conglomerates towards local food and farming systems capable of looking after people and the planet.

That’s the challenge. The need to address it is urgent. Let’s get to work.

This lengthy, extensively illustrated and referenced article covers much of the same territory but with greater emphasis on the health impact of meat consumption, and the amounts of water used in meat production, primarily from feed.

The rising demand for dairy in China, growing at 6% to 7% rate annually, is teetering on outpacing volume growth of the category (increasing by 3% to 4% every year) as the country shows great interest in dairy products, according to Mintel.

The Chinese Nutrition Society issued updated dietary guidelines for Chinese consumers in 2016, recommending that each adult should consume 300 grams (10.6 ounces) of dairy products per day – current consumption is 100 grams (3.5 ounces).

The dairy industry is thrilled:

There is still opportunity for growth of dairy consumption in China, especially from lower tier markets, as a result of consumers’ growing awareness of nutrition intake, increasing household income levels, and the accelerated urbanization process.

Exporters of dairy products to China are particularly thrilled:

Imported dairy products are still in high demand due to the some food safety concerns surrounding China’s domestic dairy products leading to a consumer perception that international dairy products are of higher quality.

Environmentalists are not so thrilled.

One consequence: the replacement of sheep by cows in New Zealand, which now has heavily polluted waterways.

From kefir to savory yogurt, upmarket cottage cheese, whole milk yogurts and farmer’s cheese bars and cups… What’s hot in dairy? What consumer trends are the most successful firms tapping into? And how is the dairy industry addressing the rapid growth in non-dairy alternatives in the milk, cheese and yogurt aisles?

Icelandic Provisions CEO: Skyr could be as big as Greek: Could skyr – which is higher in protein and lower in sugar – be as big as Greek yogurt, or is the ‘Icelandic’ segment of the dairy aisle likely to remain a quirky niche? Ten years ago, people were asking the same question about Greek yogurt, says the CEO of Icelandic Provisions, “and we all know what happened next.”.. Read

NMPF spars with Dannon, Dean Foods, over ‘rampant fear-based marketing’ on GMOs: “Rampant fear-based food marketing” – most notably from brands touting their non-GMO credentials – is damaging consumer trust and “jeopardizing the safe, sustainable farming practices that have enhanced farm productivity over the last 20 years” says the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) in a new marketing campaign that’s been sharply criticized by leading dairy brands… Read

Every now and then I see an article that seems like the most perfect indicator of food globalization; this one.

According to FoodNavigator-Asia.com, Fonterra, the New Zealand milk producer, is opening up a new milk production facility in Australia for one particular purpose: to meet the demand for cheese to top pizzas—in China.

Fonterra opened a $240m mozzarella plant to produce individually quick frozen (IQF) mozzarella in Clandeboye, New Zealand, last year, the largest producer of natural mozzarella in the Southern Hemisphere…40% of people in urban China now eat at Western style fast food outlets once a week, and the use of dairy in foodservice has grown by over 30% in five years</i>,” said Jacqueline Chow, COO, Global Consumer and Foodservice, Fonterra.

Where to begin?

Dairy cattle in New Zealand have replaced the sheep. The green sheep meadows are disappearing. Formerly pristine waters are now polluted. Why not in Australia too?

The Chinese population is largely intolerant to lactose, the sugar in milk. They can eat dairy products, but should they?

Does anyone else think that replacing the traditional Chinese diet with heavily cheesed pizza might not be the best idea?